Discussion

Applewood recently?

Hi everyone, I know there are a million threads on Applewood, but I was wondering if anyone has been there recently (for the regular menu) and, if so, what their experience was. I used to go quite often, but haven't been there for over a year and am planning on going next weekend for a special birthday dinner. I ask because I've always loved this spot, but have been hearing some things recently about a downtown in food (too salty, carelessly cooked, etc) and was wondering if others have had the same experience. Thanks so much in advance!

i have been a massive fan of applewood since they opened. about 2 months ago, right before i moved out of the slope, i had one final dinner there and was pretty underwhelmed. they seated us right in front of the bar and people kept walking around me which was annoying. i asked for a new table but the wait wouldve taken too long so i dealt with it.

i had the scallops to start which are boring but they always did well by them. these were rather limp and bland. my pork entree was a bit drier than usual as well.

we skipped dessert due to the fact that it was certainly an off night. service was mediocre but its always hit or miss there. wish i left applewood feeling good about the place but unfortunately, it wasnt one of the better visits ive had there.

I went there last week and had the tasting menu and was blown away. The yellowtail with cabbage was amazing. My wife had the lobster appetizer and is still talking about how delicious it was. That was my fifth time there and on 4 of those occasions I loved it. So based on my faulty statistical analysis there is an 80% chance you will have a sublime meal and 20% chance of being disappointed. Show me 1 restaurant that is 100% consistent, none that I can think of.

I have been to Applewood several times and never noticed anything unusual about the seasoning. If, perhaps, you find the food "all over NY" to be "HIGHLY (overly) salted," [sic] I would hedge the claim, that the problem does not lie with "all of NYC" but, well, with you sir.

I've been to applewood every month or two for the last almost 3 years. I find the quality of the food as recently as last week to be as excellent as it was during my first meal in May of 2005.

Last week I had a dish that entered my pantheon of 3 best applewood dishes of all time. It was a few pan-seared slices of homemade duck sausage. The slices were about a 1/5" thick and 1.5" across. A perfect balance of savory (duck? I don't recall) and sweet (quince -- I asked). It was poaches and then pan seared. Perfectly seasoned and not salty at all.

We visited Applewood four weeks ago after not having gone for a very long time, and while we liked it well enough on our first visit, I didn’t love it to death. This recent experience was a good one, all in all. I thought the sweetbreads app. was very good. Striped bass over polenta was tasty if a little over-cooked. We were four and the scallops ordered by one of our party were very good indeed, nicely cooked. There were two charcuterie plates and two different pork entrees as well, but I can’t speak to those dishes except to say that nobody actually snarled.

We had the luck of table on this occasion, and sat near the fireplace. Heavy weather was forecast that evening and the snow started down during our meal. It was incredibly picturesque, not that the management could entirely claim credit.

Thanks so much, everyone... it seems like applewood, just like any other good restaurant that's not super upscale, has ups and downs but is still enjoyable, hopefully as enjoyable as i remember it! I really appreciate your feedback.